Texas CTO Larry Olson Resigns

Brian Rawson named interim CTO

Larry Olson, CTO of Texas, has resigned effective Dec. 31, according to the DIR Press Office. The resignation follows in the wake of last week's landmark data-center consolidation agreement reported by Government Technology.

DIR said that Olson announced his resignation during today's board meeting of the Texas Department of Information Resources.

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"In his letter to Board Chair William Transier," said DIR, "Olson cited numerous successes including a new shared-services vision for statewide enterprise, renegotiation of the TexasOnLine.com partnership agreement that will generate about $36 million in savings, and the completion of the data center services agreement that will transform data center and disaster recovery services in the state, while saving the state $159 million over the next seven years."

Olson's projects have generated overall savings to Texas of more than $270 million, said the release, and said that Olson's goals that were established when he arrived in 2004 are now complete.

Olson reflected that the New DIR is, "a team working together as an enterprise, focused on customer service and execution. I am honored to have served my home state of Texas."

In accepting the resignation, Transier stated, "When we chose Larry for the position we knew there needed to be a transformation in the way DIR did business. As I look over the accomplishments of the past two years I know that every one has Larry's stamp on it."

The board appointed Brian Rawson, currently the director of service delivery for the agency, as the interim replacement for Olson. Rawson has over 20 years of experience in a variety of information technology and executive management positions with the state of Texas and in private industry. Prior to joining DIR, Rawson was the CIO of the Texas Education Agency.